……"There
has been no focused research on this aspect covering the
lives of the Perfect Masters. Would anyone care to find
out the effect that such thought processes of the devotees
had on the daily life of some of these Sadgurus or Gurus;
it would not only be revealing but shocking. To my mind
what makes the Sadgurus so perfect and magnificent is
not their power of miracles or knowledge of God but their
infinite tolerance and compassion to satisfy even the
smallest and undeserved demands of their devotees at a
total sacrifice of their minimum comforts, out of their
infinite kindness.

Let us take the example
of Shirdi Sai Baba’s daily life when He was at Shirdi.
Baba’s divine personality had influenced and advanced
the lives and conduct of hundreds of families towards
righteousness. Hundreds of people used to make a bee-line
to Shirdi daily. Both spiritual and material help was
being given to all whether at Shirdi or else-where by
Baba and that too, many a times, through miraculous methods.
People who surrounded Him from early morning till late
at night for the fulfillment of their multi-faceted desires,
failed to realize (except a few like Kaka Saheb Dixit,
Mhalaspati, Buti, Chandorkar, Shyama, Tatya, Radhakrishnamayee,
Baijabai, Laxmibai, Shelke, Megha, Bala Saheb Bhate and
others) the amount of suffering Baba had to undergo due
to their indiscretions over demands on Baba.

Baba used to get lots
of offerings and Dakshina daily from His devotees who
used to come to Him from different parts of Maharashtra
and other places. The gifts were mostly in the nature
of cash, food items, fruits, flowers, clothes, items for
His personal use, items for puja and other rituals etc.
He used to distribute most of it among the devotees, the
destitutes and the poor. Money received as Dakshina by
Baba used to be given-away not only to some of the daily
receivers like Bade Baba, Tatya Kote Patil etc. but also
donated freely to some individuals and groups who used
to approach Baba regularly. Such groups included Kirtan
groups, Mazlis groups, dance troupes, nomadic groups demonstrating
rural sports, beggars, mendicant Sadhus and Faquirs, needy
devotees, destitute women and children etc. Indeed Baba’s
fame for charity had spread so far and wide that many
families with children used to come and camp at Shirdi
only to live off Baba's charity. By 1915/16 this number
had increased to hundreds and their daily demands on Baba
were ever on the increase.

Some of them would
approach Baba on all sorts of pretexts to extract money
and food. Knowing the attachment of Baba towards children
some of them would send their children to Baba on the
sly, so that whenever any devotee presented food items
and Baba was about to start His meal, these children would
appear on the scene and beg. The all compassionate Baba
would distribute all the food items and many a times go
without meals. Some times the food items, clothes as also
the utensils would be stolen.

By 1915 there were
more than 30 kirtan or singing parties (some of whom were
of extremely poor in quality) who had mostly come from
outside. They used to camp at Shirdi only to get money
by displaying their forced performance before Baba at
Dwarakamayee and also in the adjacent areas. Some local
touts busied themselves in managing these nefarious activities
and used to take a cut from the profited parties. Besides,
there was another aspect which made Baba’s stay
at Shirdi most uncomfortable. Baba used to get periodic
attacks of Asthama.

Even when He was under
such attack some callous devotees would bathe Him with
cold water, apply oil and chandan all over His body and
make Him take milk, curd, rice and fruits, which an Asthama
patient should strictly avoid. All this they did just
to satisfy their sentiments. Baba continued to suffer
physically from 1915 onwards due to such whimsical treatment
at the hands of His ignorant devotees.

When Baba used to
actually suffer physically, some ignorant devotees took
it to be His ‘Leela’ or Divine Sport. “How
can the Master physically suffer when He is in a God state?
It must be one of His Leelas”, they would say. Their
abysmal ignorance did not allow them to appreciate even
the most fundamental question that - can a perfect Master
resort to lie or deception? And even if it seems to be
so can it be for His own worldly interest?

Some of them brought
down the concept of Leela to its meanest interpretation
i.e. that the Master is behaving in such a cunning manner
for the early disposal of the devotees or because he has
some other job to do. Some of these devotees even used
to disturb Him during his prayer times, creating scenes
near Dwarakamayee Maszid on the distribution of spoils
or squabbling with each other. They would often complain
to Baba about the greed and misconduct of other devotees
without looking into their own conduct. Each wanted more
time from Baba even for his smallest needs, while pretending
to be most considerate and blaming others for wasting
Baba’s time.".........

Q & A

By what method
Baba’s worship should be done at home?

There is a basic difference
between the worship of Baba done at home or in the temple.
The 'Praan Pratishtha' is not usually done of the idol
at home, usually His photograph is worshipped. Therefore,
any suitable method can be adopted to worship Baba. It
is necessary to simplify the method of worship.

Most of the external
rites and rituals are artificial if they do not evoke
inner bhakti. Offering even a single flower with bhava
and with unshakeable faith to the Sadguru is sufficient.
If we are away from home for some reason, we can still
worship Baba the same way as we do at home mentally, sitting
in a place. This is called ‘Manas Puja’. At
home this work can be assigned to anybody, Baba is beyond
any discrimination of religion, caste or creed, small
or big, rich or poor.

It is said in the
Vedas that all the deities are inherent in the form of
the Sadguru. So there is nothing wrong if Sadguru is worshipped
keeping aside all the other deities or if he is worshipped
in the form and manner of any deity. Sikh devotees sacrificed
their lives happily for their Gurus because it was their
belief that the Guru is eternal and will always be with
them. It is absolutely necessary to have immense faith
towards the Sadguru. Where as Puja is a methodology, Bhakti
is the substance of spiritualism.

……"Again,
on one occasion, when Hemad Pant alias Anna Dabolkar came
to him, there was in the fold of his coat some channa,
that is, fried grain, and it fell from his coat; and people
were joking about him. That was a day of the fair at Shirdi,
and Dabolkar had perhaps been to the fair. Baba, wanting
to have a joke at him, said, 'Oh! This channa shows that
he is in the habit of eating things all by himself without
sharing it with others'.

Dabolkar
was upset and he protested that he had no such habit.
But how the channa got into his dress, he could not explain.
Then, Baba made further use of the occasion and told him,
'When you eat, do you give things to me? Am I not always
by your side?' Thus impressing on him a very valuable
lesson that Baba was present everywhere and that they
should first offer their food to him as their Gurudeva.
before taking their food. This is a sacred lesson, and
this teaching is divine. But it came out as Baba's humour,
and poked fun at Anna Saheb Dabolkar.

On another occasion,
Baba wished to impress Dixit and Rege with his wonderful
powers and teach them also some humility. Rege had prepared
lime syrup and piqued himself on his cleverness in making
such a fine syrup, for he had tasted it and found it excellent.
So, he carried it jubiliantly to Baba. H.S. Dixit was
there when the drink was brought to him, Baba, tasted
a bit of it, put on a wry face, and told Kaka Dixit, 'Arre,
Kaka see how acid this squash is that is given to me'.

Then Dixit tasted
it and declared that it was acid, and he passed it on
to Rege himself. Rege tasted it and found it was acid.
He was mortified What? To present to his Guru such a severely
acid drink! Immediately Baba smiled, and said, 'I am only
joking. Now taste each of you. You will, find it sweet'.
Then Dixit and Rege both tasted the very same liquid,
and they found it sweet. We cannot say whether Baba's
purpose was merely to play a practical joke or teach his
devotees humility. Humour, we find was only Baba's kindly
way of dealing with erring human beings.

On another occasion,
Baba had to impress a stranger, Kaka Mahajani's master.
That man would not easily believe in saints, but was prevailed
upon by Mahajani to go with him to see Baba, whose powers
were reported to be wonderful, and so he was anxious to
see some chamatkars. On the way they had purchased Monakka
dried grapes with seeds at a bazaar.

When that packet was
taken and presented to Baba, Baba took some and gave a
portion of it to Kaka Mahajani and his master to taste.
The boss Thakersay Sait put the grapes into his mouth
and ate. Being in a Mosque, he could not spit the seeds.
So, he was obliged to spit them into his handkerchief
and put that in his pocket. He was wondering how Sai Baba,
who was said to be an All¬ knowing person could fall
to understand this difficulty.

Baba knew at once
everything that had passed in his mind, and immediately
offered him some more grapes. The very grapes he had brought,
namely, the grapes with seeds, were given to him, and
Baba said, 'Eat'. So, he had to obey. He was annoyed at
having to dirty his handkerchief. But lo! and behold!
When these grapes were put into his mouth, they had become
seedless grapes.

He had himself purchased
grapes with seeds and here they were turned into seedless
ones. Here was a chamatkar and he was satisfied, as he
wanted chamatkars from Baba. But Baba enjoyed this spectacle
of mental puzzles with amusement and also gave him an
opportunity to study His power that comes to bhaktas who
concentrate their minds on the Lord and whose every wish
is therefore immediately effective.

Another case of practical
joke is this. This carried with it a moral lesson also
showing us the combination of the human and divine elements
in Baba. M.B. Rege was a devotee greatly attached to Baba.
Once when he sat by Baba's side, somebody brought a bunch
of red plantains to be offered to Baba.

Young Rege was very
fond of these fruits. He thought that Baba would, of course,
distribute these plantains amongst them all, and he would
have an opportunity of having his share of fine red plantains
to eat. Baba read his mind at once, Baba then took up
the plaintains, and after distributing. the fruits to
all, and omitting Rege, he pulled off one fruit, and,
having given the pulp to somebody else, threw the red
skin alone Rege saying, ‘Khav. Khav’ eat,
eat..

It was the red exterior
that had attracted young Rege, and the kind but jovial
Baba was showing him what the red exterior was. It was
no doubt unpalatable, but still Rege's bhakti rose equal
to the occasion and he swallowed the skin as though he
was a bull. Baba took up to a second fruit and a third
and went on throwing them to Rege being in a mood for
jokes.

But at last, he turned
to Rege and said, 'Ha! have I given you no fruit?' Then,
as he really loved Rege, and returning Rege's powerful
love, he peeled off another fruit and asked Rege to bite
it off, and then he himself bit off another portion and
thus between them they finished the plantain.

This enjoying one
plantain together was a sign of great love, and the joke
also had the effect of impressing on the young devotee
the important lesson that externals which attracted were
really not worth having, as the attractive redness of
the skin of the red plaintain would not give him joy when
eaten by itself. Instances of Baba's humour and practical
jokes are many.”……

ARTICLE

One God, Many
Sadgurus, One Energy, One Experience

Shri Shirdi Sai Nath
has no name. ‘Shirdi’ is the name of a place;
‘Sai’ is how God is addressed, in many languages
and ‘Nath’ is the name of a tradition, cult
or a Panth. ‘Sai’ is not the name given to
him by his parents. No one knows His real name, His real
pedigree, and His real identity. For everyone He is ‘My
Loving Baba’ or simply ‘Baba’. He is
our beloved ‘Sai Baba of Shirdi’. All of us
have felt the fatherly love and compassion emanating from
Him and so the spontaneous utterance of ‘Baba’
and ‘Sai’ follows. We all know Him only through
the feelings in our heart and experiences generated through
his grace.

When one analyses
the experiences of various people with their respective
Guru, Saint, Deity or God, cutting across all religions,
one finds a common cord - of a feeling of love, compassion,
devotion and grace - running through these respective
group of devotees, touching each one of them equally.
Different experiences seem to melt away and merge into
what is universally felt as the same kind of energy or
a cosmic force functioning through varied personified
forms.

It does not seem to
matter at all, which Sadguru, Saint, deity or God one
is following as the darshan of any Saint gives the same
realisation. Darshan is in itself a very powerful learning
tool for the one who approaches a Sadguru with an open
heart and mind. Darshan very clearly brings forth the
awareness of a Meeting of the Spirit.

Some of the experiences
of devotees with Neem Karoli Baba are narrated below to
illustrate the presence of the Universal Energy Force
that operates through various channels and forms. Shri
Ram Dass who was a Professor at Harvard University, in
his book ‘Miracles of Love’, speaks of Him
as ‘my guru’, or very simply as ‘Maharajji’.
Like Shirdi Sai, no one knows the real name of Baba Neem
Karoli. He got this name because He was initially seen
in a village - Neeb Karori in Uttar Pradesh.

Read slowly and remember
to listen to the silence in which the stories are set,
for the true meeting with Baba lies between the lines
and behind the words.

Darshan: A
Meeting of the Spirit

Not everyone who
met Maharajji was "awakened" at the initial
visit. Many came, enjoyed a pleasant visit, and left apparently
unaffected. They seemed to have "no business"
with Maharajji, that is, they were either unready to be
touched so deeply, or the vehicle of the guru or this
particular guru was not their way.

Then there were those
who while experiencing no dramatic "zap," yet
responded to some subtle thread that drew them back to
Maharajji again and again. I was astonished at the way
in which tough people would melt as they stayed around
Maharajji. True, many wanted something worldly from the
"miracle Baba," but beyond that they wanted
once again to taste of the nectar of being with him.

At one moment we saw
ourselves and the other devotees and seekers as so many
vultures around a piece of raw meat or like flies crawling
over a piece of sugar. At those times we tried to protect
him, and often we held ourselves back so as not to contribute
to the scene.

But at other times
we would realize how totally Maharajji had control of
the situation. When he felt that people were, as he put
it, "eating his head," he would simply go into
a backroom and close the door, or send everyone away,
or get in a car and leave without a backward glance. Once,
after traveling many months to see Maharajji, we at last
found him at a devotee's home in Delhi. We were allowed
into the backroom with him for a few minutes and then
were sent out to have tea with many others. About fifteen
minutes later Maharajji walked out of the inner room and
right by us, not more than two feet from our faces, with
not the least turn of the head or signal of recognition.
He went to a car in which a driver was waiting. He got
in, and the car left for a destination unknown. Such a
person was clearly not at our mercy!

Many Levels
– Many Changes

One day he came out
and all he said all day long was "Thul-Thul, Nan-Nan,"
repeating these words to himself like a mantra. Days went
by like this and somebody finally said, "Maharajji,
what are you saying?" And it turned out to be an
old Behari dialect and all it meant was "Too big,
too big, too little, too little. When he was finally asked
why he was saying this, he said, "Oh, all you people,
you all live in Thul-Thul, Nan-Nan; you live in the world
of judgement. It's always too big or too little.

You can never know,
as you sit before Maharajji, who it is that he is working
with in the course of a darshan. He may be talking with
one person while another is being deeply moved in some
special way. You yourself can't know what you are receiving
from him. We took our cue in this respect from one of
Maharajji's long-term, trusted devotees, called "Dada,"
who served Maharajji with a singleness of purpose that
awed us. When Maharajji would compliment him, Dada would
say, "Ha, Baba," meaning, "Yes, Baba,"
and when Maharajji would shout insults at him, sometimes
upbraiding him from morning till night, he would reply,
in exactly, the same tone," Ha, Baba!" Obviously,
fame and shame were one to him, at least when Maharajji
was the source. No longer, could Maharajji get Dada angry
or guilty; over the years, it had all been burned out.
For Dada, it was all grace.

There was the sport
of watching the newcomers arrive, skeptical, with questions,
and then seeing their hearts gently open and their soft,
flowerlike quality emerge under the tender care of the
master gardener.

Timeless Darshan

The minute you meet
him, if you are ready, he will plant himself within you.
And time is nothing. You would forget everything when
you were with him. There would be nothing but Maharajji—total,
effortless worship. That's the real puja. Sometimes we
would sit up so late at night in Kainchi, talking with
Maharajji, that we would lose all sense of time until
we would hear someone taking their morning bath, and we
would realize that the whole night was gone. It was one
of those darshans where you think somebody must have put
LSD in the tea. We would bask in His radiance.

Actually you can be
more truly with Maharajji when you are away from his form.
At a distance you can concentrate on him undisturbed.

Darshan of
Intimacy

Maharajji reached
each person's heart in a way special to that person. Everyone's
experience with him was different. You cannot explain
what it is like to be with him. It is a thing to be felt
in your heart. He was so gentle that you weren't afraid
of him at all. But sometimes you'd think that there must
be a lion in there. Maharajji was sitting on the tucket
and he leaned over and kissed Kabir on the head. That
kiss affected everyone who was there. It made people feel
really warm inside. Every time Maharajji would hug somebody,
everybody in the room would go, "Ahhhhh.

Darshans of
Love

All the love and
affection and kindness that came from Maharajji—you
cannot get these from man. You never have met one so lovable,
so kind, so sweet. How could you not love him? You almost
wanted to give up your breath to him if you could.

A devotee asked me
if I had ever been caught by Maharajji's glance in a way
that, as he briefly looked at me, I forgot everything
but knew only Maharajji's love. The devotee said it is
a wonderful and rare thing when he looks at you in that
way, and you are very fortunate if you can hold his gaze
in that state. He could go through your heart with just
a look or a movement. The slightest thing could feel as
if it were piercing you.

Talking at
Darshans

He was always rattling
on like a child, talking about this and that, most of
which wasn't translated. It was like seeing a fine foreign
movie where you don't really need the subtitles! In some
instances he would say a thing only once. If you didn't
catch it, it was gone.

When you were with
Maharajji you talked about what he wanted to talk about.
If you started your topic, Maharajji would ignore it or
change it. There was no conversation around Maharajji
other than with him. Maharajji would talk to one and be
hitting another and only the one who was supposed to would
understand.

Maharajji showed great
interest in everything, just like an ordinary man. He
had no pretensions, yet nobody could deceive him.

Touching His
Feet

“Touching,
holding, rubbing the guru's feet has always had profound
significance in the Hindu tradition. To touch the feet
of such a being is not only to receive this grace, but
it is an act of submission, of surrender to God, for that
is what the guru represents on earth.

How vividly I recall,
after my first meeting with Maharajji, how all my disregard
and arrogance disappeared before an almost overwhelming
desire literally to be at his feet. On the second or third
meeting, I was watching the man next to me, who was rubbing
Maharajji’s feet. The expression on his face suggested
that he was experiencing waves of ecstasy, and as I watched
him out of the corner of my eye, I felt jealous. Before
us, sitting on the table cross-legged was Maharajji, well
wrapped in a bright plaid blanket, so that only his head
showed above the blanket and a bare foot stuck out beneath.
It was this foot that was the source of both the bliss
and the jealousy, for the man was massaging the foot with
great tenderness and love, and I was yearning to be in
his place. How bizarre to find myself sitting in a tiny
Hindu temple halfway around the world, jealous because
I could not rub an old man's foot!

“As I reflected
on this strange turn of events, Maharajji talked to people
gathered in the small room at the back of the temple compound,
but he seemed to be asking one a question, scolding another,
joking with a third, and giving instructions to a fourth.
In the midst of these conversations, I saw him move ever
so slightly, and his other foot appeared beneath the blanket
just beside me.

“I suspected
that only people who had been around him for some time
were allowed to massage his feet—and I was the newest
comer—but I decided I couldn't be faulted for trying.
So slowly, my hands went up, touched the foot, and began
to massage. But instead of waves of bliss, my mind was
full of the sharp edges of doubt and confusion as to whether
I should use my fingers or my palms. Just as suddenly
as the foot appeared, it was withdrawn back under the
blanket. My mind was filled with self-pity about my own
impurity wondering if I was pure enough to be doing this.
“As the visit went on, Maharajji took me more and
more out of my self-consciousness and into a space that
had no familiar boundaries. I experienced waves of confusion,
bordering on madness. And that was the moment the foot
reappeared before me. And again, I reached for it. But
this time my mind was too overwhelmed to analyze procedure.
I just clung to the foot as a drowning man would to a
life preserver.

Sita would always
sit on my right, and being a greedy, obnoxious Leo, I'd
push my way up front and grab Maharajji's foot. Sita would
always want the same foot, so I would have a shoving match
with her. She would say, "Get away from here. You
don't belong here. "And she'd throw her shoulder
down to block me. Sometimes Maharajji would give his foot
to me and sometimes to her.

Have you felt that
you are not reading about Baba Neem Karoli but your own
Guru? Haven’t we all experienced such events before
or heard about them, happening with someone else in the
company of our Baba. Isn’t Sai Satcharitra full
of such narrations? We all have experienced the presence
of the same form of energy with our Guru and God, as devotees
felt with Baba Neem Karoli. All are One and All are connected
to each other. That is why Shirdi Sai never encouraged
anyone from disrespecting or leaving one’s own Guru
for His sake or for anyone else.

What was it about
the Darshan that captivated us? Was it the many levels
and changes, or the moments of timelessness, or perhaps
the intimacy and love? Or was it the talking and kidding
and humor, or maybe the purity? Then, of course, perhaps
it was the touching of the feet. Or was it all of them?
Or none of them? Was the connection perhaps a subjective
one, beyond our dualistic experiencing? Maharajji, who
are You? Baba, who are You?

There is no Name.
No Religion. No Caste. No region. Are you other than our
very selves as you are felt within us only? That is why
Shirdi Sai has no Name. That is how all Gods exist, not
in mythology but in the hearts of people, who experience
them. There is a need to make and preserve Setu between
us and Sai Ram, through our hearts and not otherwise.

There are no words.
There is no answer. There is no question, really. There
is just darshan, which is grace. The First Step rightly
taken. Sagun disappears, Nirgun appears and there is Light.

Ritu and Shantanu
Dhamija, Delhi

DEVOTEE EXPERIENCE

The Day I
Lost 'My Baba'!

I start each day with seeing
Baba in my cell, wishing Him good morning and kissing
Him, singing His songs, and thinking of Him all the time
and doing His puja with Him on my mangalsutra.(one Sai
devotee from India sent me a small silver pendant of Baba
to put on a chain, and I added Him on my mangalsutra with
a small gold color safety pin).

I leave Him on my mangalsutra
at His Lotus Feet of Palarathi Idol (He looks so loving
and handsome with a gold color kireetam and a grand garland
around Him) on my dresser when I go to work. He came from
Shirdi to come into our own house!

I have on my cell phone Baba's
picture and I call my cell as 'my Baba'. I take 'my Baba'
everywhere I go. On last Rakhee day, I was working; and
when I was closing the register at Macy's, my mom called
me and I told her that I was coming out of work so I would
call her from the car, and being in a hurry to go somewhere
else, I put 'my Baba' on the counter and walked out, completely
forgetting Him. The time was 7 p.m.

As I started the car,
I looked for 'my Baba' and couldn't find Him anywhere,
in my purse or in the car. I felt a sharp knife in my
heart and as if I lost everything, including my heart
and felt a big black hole inside, completely empty. I
ran frantically into the work place and started asking
everyone if they saw my cell.

Then I remembered
I put Him on the counter and ran there, only to find the
counter empty. I asked another employee if she saw my
cell. She said no. Then I saw two Chinese women walking
towards me from the fitting rooms, and one lady said to
me, "here is your cell phone, I saw it here and thought
of giving it to someone".

My heart jumped a
beat as I looked at 'my Baba' in her hands, I took it
and hugged her and said " may God bless you both"
and went to my car. I started thinking... I lost 'my Baba'
and that Chinese woman took it knowing its not hers but
Baba made her come back and give it to me. I thanked Baba
for coming back to me and opened 'my Baba' and kissed
Him. My heart felt normal...

At home my daughter
was getting ready to tie Rakhee to her brother and wore
a saree and was looking for a safety pin on my dresser
and saw a small gold color pin and felt that was too small
so she took another regular sized safety pin from a box.
When I came home and after my shower took my mangalsutra
to wear for His puja, I was shocked to see He wasn't on
my mangalsutra. Baba's pendant was still on the dresser
near His palarathi idol.

I felt a sharp pain
in my heart and looked at Baba and said " Oh no Baba
, You are not leaving me," and saying so I took Him
and looked for the gold color safety pin, and it was next
to the idol and the pin was closed! I just took Him and
put Him back on my mangalsutra and went to do His puja.

I was thinking someone in my
home wanted a safety pin so took out Baba and took the
pin but changed their mind and left it there.

Later during dinner,
I casually asked my husband if he took the safety pin
holding Baba on my chain. He said no. I asked my son,
he also said no. But my daughter told me that she went
to my room, looking for a safety pin and took a big one
but not the small one.

She also said she
saw the gold pin next to Baba's idol at the same time.
I got curious and asked her at what time. She said exactly
at 7 pm! Then it struck my matti burra, that at my work
I lost 'my Baba' at 7 pm and at home too He went away
from my mangalsutra at exactly 7 pm too! What can I say?

Baba, the love you have shown
me, I do not want to squander
As taught by you, I am trying to be gentler and kinder
Not to hurt anyone, and to all, a warm service render
I see people pray and then with tongue and hand they plunder
Of what use is such a prayer, I always wonder
And all that you have taught, can I practice? I ponder
In spite of myself, I notice my mind continues to weakly
meander
And makes me think, that for your Divine Love, I am just
a pretender

The eternal Maya,
makes one do things, which one does not realize, is slander
To reach you, how long and far do I have to anxiously
wander?
And to test my love, how much will you make me run? I
wonder
I think, many a time I do not have the strength to truly
surrender
I always seem to be battle weary and walking on a thread
so slender
So, please call me Baba, hold me in your arms and take
me yonder
Because, I do not want, anymore, for your Divine Love
to be a pretender

The word “Children”
immediately brings to our mind, tiny tots and children
below adolescent age. We selectively forget that we, the
adults, are also Children of God. What is true for us
has then to be true for the small kids too.

Sai’s message is Universal.
To attain the goal of “Vasudeva Kudambakam”,
meaning the world must be a place for peace lovers belonging
to one and the same family. It is said that the birth
of a human being is the most prized award; each soul gets
in response to its deeds and misdeeds in earlier lives.
If that be so, it can not be wasted away in peripheral
anxieties and so called worldly pleasures, which are invariably
short-lived. We must always be looking for salvation,
to avoid re-birth and to be one with Sai forever.

Sai’s guiding principles
towards this end are:-

(a) To serve humanity, and
to serve with unconditional love.
(b) Partake in sufferings of less privileged and up-lift
them in their life.
(c) Always work with dedication and commitment.
(d) Develop patience and “vairagya” to complete
any task undertaken.
(e) Never publicize your good deeds.
(f) Never desist from sharing your bounties.
(g) Have unstinted faith in Him – why fear when
He is there?
(h) Aspire for everlasting peace and a place next to Him.
(i) Follow His eleven prized Do’s and Don’ts
publicized in all Sai Mandirs.

Sai’s message to us,
the Children, in nutshell is to serve, serve, serve and
serve the humanity ever.

While reading Mrs
Lalitha Katthula's posting, about her son not believing
in Baba - if that had been destined by Him, why to bother
and pray and make him believe. Despite this one short
coming, the letter briefly says that the boy is fine otherwise.
Let him not believe in what we believe. But train him;
make him understand that he should serve others; that
he should look after the needy, and help people who are
suffering.

Make him contribute
to the welfare of the society. He is a youngster. There
is lot of life left for him. Who knows? If Baba wants
there may come a time, He will make sure the boy reaches
Him with his family. Dear Madam, please do not worry and
keep insisting that your son must believe. Do not thrust
your views on him.

Shilpa B
Roy, Mumbai

I don't know of any formal
method of prayer to Sai Baba. Just meditating on His name
constantly will make you feel closer to Him. Also, you
should get and read 'Sai Satcharita”, which I am
sure, will help you immensely. The book is like a bible
and gives you the answers to all the problems in life.

I hope and pray that
you find solace soon. I realise you must be going through
a lot of pain. It is often said that you can't change
the world. I suggest you look inward to see what changes
you can bring about in your personality that can make
you suffer less pain. With this self analysis and Sai's
grace, things should fall in place for you.

I
am receiving all the editions of the Sai Heritage E-Zine
newsletter and I also get the Heritage magazine. It is
actually wonderful and very good. I am waiting for every
issue. I am reading the contents with interest. Everything
is very, very good.

The
last issue of the magazine tells us how will we get Shradha,
Bhakti, Patience, Faith etc. This will help every devotee
to learn from Sai Babaji. Thanks once again for this.

Valsala Sivadasan,
New Delhi

I really look forward
to get Sai Heritage E-Zine newsletter on Thursday. I always
feel a wave of joy overpowers me after reading the newsletter,
as if Sai Baba gives me instructions through the newsletter.
I always try to correct myself through the message I get
by your mail.

Your mails have become a medium
or a platform through which My Lord Shri Sai Baba communicates
with me.

With the blessings and grace of Shri Shirdi Sai , the
first ever online Shirdi Sai baba radio will be broadcasting,-
leela's of Baba thru His bhajans in Hindi, Telugu, Marathi
and Gujrati, Sai Mahima , Sai amritwani, Sai mantra ,Sai
Satcharitra prayaan ,discourses ,Geeta Gyan , Vishnu Sahasaram
and much much more. I will be hosting it from this thursday.
I will also be sharing my experiences and experiences
of other Sai devotees thru this media.

This is the first
ever online radio dedicated to the lotus feet of Shri
Shirdi Sai baba. Just by listening to this radio, Sai
devotees will feel the bliss of Baba and His leela's around
them. You can go to http://debu7366.blogspot.com/
to listen to this radio [ password- omsrisai ]or for knowing
the weekly program guide and to post your request, suggestions
,feedback and comments- plz visit http://sairadio.blogspot.com/
. You will also find a lot of important information at
this site in the coming weeks.

Shri Shirdi Sai Baba
Sansthan, Canada, (Toronto) cordially invite Devotees
to attend - volunteer - Receive Baba's Grace and be Immersed
in Divine Bliss on the AUSPICIOUS day of THURSDAY 6:30PM
at the GUR MANDIR 207 Queen's Plate Drive., Etobicoke
(South of Steeles on the East side of Highway 27 on Queen's
Plate). Invocation
Ceremony of Baba's Divine Blessings will be conducted
with Sacred Ashtotra Namavali to the accompaniment of
Bhajans, Satcharita Paraayan, Naivedaya Offerings Dhoop
Aarti and Mahaprasaad (Preeti Bhoj) Devotees are welcome
to bring a dish for Naivedaya Offerings as inspired by
Baba. Details at www.shirdisainath.org

By the grace of our
Shirdi Sai we are happy to announce the inauguration of
Shri Shirdi Sai Temple in LA region in the city of Montebello.
We need the support of all Sai Devotees. For more information
please email krishna@shirdisaila.org

The North America Shirdi Sai Temple is located at 700
James Burgess Road,Suwanee GA 30024.Temple is open all
seven days of the week. Baba's Kakad Aarti, Abhishek Puja,
Madhyan Aarti, Dhoop Aarti and Shej Aarti are performed
every day. Bhajans are sung on all thursday and sunday
evenings. For information regarding the daily schedule,
temple activities and events please visit Mandir's website:
www.templeofpeace.org
or call 678-455-7200

This is to inform all
of you that we have a Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Malaysia.
Here we have daily prayers and special prayers on thursday
mornings 9.00am and bhajans and satsang from 8 pm onwards.
Also breakfast, lunch and dinner, cooked by our seva-group
is provided to all devotees. other than that first thursday
of the month we have talk on spirituality, second thursday
on health, third thursday satsang on Sai Satcharitra,
fourth thursday talk on general topics, by experts in
the respective fields. Lot of charitable activities are
conducted by our Centre,like sponsoring immediate services
to childrens\' homes, old-folks homes, sick and needy,
etc. etc.

The dream of having
a full fledged exclusive Shirdi Sai Temple in Singapore,
will soon come true. Thanks to the efforts of a Sai devotee
in making this happen. The Shirdi Sai Baba Centre in Singapore
is now live with the 3rd floor function hall, Sri Vadapathira
Kaliamman temple, being secured and converted to a full
fledged exclusive Shirdi Sai worship centre. The Centre
will be devoted to celebrating the life & teachings
of Shirdi Sai Baba only. For more information visit our
website http://www.saisansthan.com/

You may have given many different gifts to your
friends and loved ones, but giving a subscription
of "Heritage of Shirdi Sai" magazine would be a
unique gift as it connects the people you love with
SADGURU SHIRDI SAI and brings His blessings with
the gift.

Topic of Discussion feature is
intended to initiate useful discussions on topics
related to Shirdi Sai Philosophy and His teachings,
Guru Tradition, Teachings of the Sadguru,
the nature and functions of the Perfect Masters,
true devotion, qualification of a disciple, etc.

Send your poem, article or drawing on SHIRDI SAI
BABA and the best ones will be showcased in Heritage
of Shirdi Sai Magazine and in the Children section
on our website. Anybody upto 18 years of age can
send in the material.

In order to ensure that Heritage Of
Shirdi Sai sustains itself and is available to
devotees at affordable rates, we do solicit advertisements.
However, in keeping with the magazine’s philosophy
and approach, the advertisements would be displayed
as banners and not creative commercial product.